Tourism in Chile

We asked the Government in Chile what they see as a key priority for the development of the Chilean economy in the coming years. Tourism was the answer they gave us as they see this as playing a a key role in the future deelopment of the country. At the time of writing, tourism currently accounts for approximately 3% of the Chilean economy and the current government are proposing to double this to 6% in this decade. Through the newly created Subsecretaría de Tourismo the aim is to create 45,000 new direct jobs and some 160,000 indirect jobs. Investment will be made in infrastructure, both physical and digital and support (credit) and training given to small and medium businesses in the tourism industry. As a result of this investment it is hoped to increase the number of tourists visiting from abroad by up to 45%. Although tourism in Chile has traditionally been a small part of overall GDP, you can see from the graph below that tourist numbers from abraod have been steadily increasing over recent years as more and more people are discovering Chile from America, Europe and the rest of the world. If you’re thinking about travelling to Chile the official travel guide is a good place to start. You can read the letter from the government department below.